the Pharaohs Escape
by yatemugirl
Summary: a rebellion starting from an unknown source is taking over the kingdom, and though the brave and powerful pharaoh wishes to stay in his kingdom and fight against it, certain circumstances have forced him to retreat, taking him on a journey adventure, love and self realization
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This story is a long one that I worked on over the summer , so far I only have a few chaps written but they're all at least 10 pages long, anyway, I hope you enjoy it.

The pharaohs escape

In the time of the great pharaohs of Egypt, there was one that stood high among the others, Akhenaten, the king of all kings, was the mightiest of them all. According to rumors that traveled through the villages by tongue and by stone. He was the son of the sun itself, he had single handedly defeated the Hetittites using the awesome powers of the gods, through seven magical items. The millennium items.

The millennium scales, the millennium key, the millennium necklace, the millennium eye, the millennium rod, the millennium ring and last…. But not least… the millennium puzzle. Which was the item of the pharaoh himself, a symbol of his god like statis. These objects all had similar powers, but each of them also had unique attributes … but with a cost, the great pharaoh, king of kings. Had been deceived by his brother, for it had been his own idea to create the items… and the pharaoh thought he was genius, but what he failed to include.. Was how the items had been created in the first place … this was a dark secret kept only by the pharaohs brother the workers who were involved ….and one small village child, who, in the darkness … and the shadows .. Would become the worst threat to Egypt, that had ever been encountered.

When the pharaoh had discovered the dark secret… he sacrificed himself to the gods as an offering …. And he did so, in front of his one, and only living son, Atemu. Who would take his place on the throne as king, and as a young boy as well.

Now, it had been a decade since the tragic death, and Atem, now bereaved of his parents for quite some time, was still pharaoh, and though his rule so far had been short lived, he had learned many things, and had been tested almost to his limits. Which was all necessary, for in the years to come he would need every single skill he had.

But right now, the king did not want to think about his past…..or the future, he just wanted to relax while he had the chance.

Atemu was standing on the balcony, long violet cape and dark crimson hair with flowing bangs, blowing in the hot, sweet, Egyptian breeze, as he …. Looked out to his great and rich empire.

Sometimes when he would just stand there, he couldn't help but feel almost unworthy of this great nation, with its bountiful foods, and water recourses , it sweet honey like date trees and sunny weather. And all the people within it, bakers, painters , sculptors and scribes. Not to mention the legacy that he had to up hold,… the legacy of not only his father, but of Tutankhamen the boy king so similar to him, Hatshepsut the first of many great female rulers, and of course, the most famous of them all, Ramses the 2nd,, whose great ruling was one many hoped would never end… it was all so much at once … but he had no other choice, and no other calling… this was what he had been born into, it was his destiny….and his duty to protect.

"Though I wish the gods would give me more free time …" he thought to himself, sighing, most days he was over stacked with papyrus documents and lessons in magic…. Military training, emergencies…. And now, most frequently, threat letters from unknown sources.

He would receive many letters describing how he would be put to an early death. It was distressing… but he trudged on.

Breaking him out of his thoughts, someone knocked on his chamber door, the pharaoh turned and glanced at the door.

"You may enter." he said, his voice smooth and low, the way you would expect royalty to sound.

The heavy brass doors creaked open slowly as two servants pushed them, soon revealing a royal priest in azure and gold robes. He walked in leisurely a few steps then bowed, placing his knee on the floor.

The pharaoh smiled kindly at the gesture "so, what is it priest Seto?" asked.

Still bowed the priest explained " it is a message your majesty," he looked up with sharp icy blue eyes "of great urgency." he added, smirking.

The pharaoh rose an eyebrow interested "alright then" he said as he gestured for the priest to rise, "let me hear it."

The priest stood, standing at lest two feet taller than the pharaoh himself, almost towering and continued.

"its from your… ah.. Sister." he said

"Oh, Mana, then… "He sighed, knowing his sister it was probably most likely a clue of where to look for her somewhere in the palace than it was to be an urgent emergency.

"Yes, Mana… she wants you to look in the garden, she'll be waiting "somewhere" in that area." Seto smiled.

Atem couldn't help but chuckle, he was happy that the message wasn't just more paper work, but that didn't mean it wasn't "work". finding mana was never an easy task.

"should've known.." said the pharaoh as he continued to gaze out upon his kingdom. …. He was quiet for a moment .. Then let out a quiet sigh.

The priest walked closer to his master , sensing that there was something wrong. "are you alright my majesty?" he asked .

Atem hung his head a bit, the looked up again, giving a bit of a sad smile. "It's nothing… Seto… just…. I feel as if … I should be worried about the future, as if I can sense something will happen that, I will not be able to control…. "He said.

"hm." said seto "is it about the threat letters?…. Or have you been talking to Ishizu? … she isn't always very… em… accurate you know" he said

Atem shook his head "no, no… it's not that… just…." Atems face became grave "ever since I had to watch my father die…. And I still don't know why. I've always felt that there was something terribly wrong with this place… These items and the power they hold…. "as he said this the king cupped the solid gold millennium item that hung royally from his neck.

As seto listened to his kings troubles , he became a bit uneasy himself… he had some knowledge of what his pharaoh meant, but it seemed that Atem, under the circumstances of his fathers death, knew very little of the palaces past.

Atem put his hands through his soft tri-colored hair and shook his head again.

"it… its nothing I suppose, I guess I'm just paranoid. Just because a few criminals have tried to assassinate me and many others want to try, doesn't mean the world is coming to an end, right? Heh…"

Seto chuckled nervously "heh.. Y-yes.. Of course not."

The pharaoh smiled once more and turned to the priest. The pharaoh didn't know if seto considered him as a friend even if he had no choice but to work for him, but atem sure did… since he never had many...

"alright then priest , you are dismissed , if anyone comes looking for me, tell them I'm off looking for a fugitive "

Seto bowed "yes , pharaoh"

And with that, the priest left the room , and atem ran off childlike, in search of his sister.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Atem ran hurriedly in his Egyptian sandals, wind blowing through his blonde bangs, as he made his way through the temples and chambers of the large, spacious palace where he had lived his entire life.

He weaved through massive columns decorated with ancient hieroglyphic script, he made his way past the temples of nut and Horus, sneaking past gateways guarded by mammoth lifelike structures of hawk and jackal headed gods. The potted plants with fan like leaves waved in the hot breeze , the pyramids, in the distance ,shining white in the Egyptian sun.

He soon found himself in the gardens. It was one of his favorite places, the grass was always green here, there was always shade provided by the tall palms, and the fountain was always flowing with clean, crystal clear water strait from the holy Nile river itself.

"this is where she siad she would be…. I wonder where?" atem thought to himself as he looked around, he examined the many tall, wide pots that lined the garden. She had to be in one of those.

He walked leisurely up to one of them scanned the inside of it, it was empty, but then, he heard a rustling sound. Followed by a soft giggle. He turned and looked to another jar. It was wobbling back and forth slightly.

Atem smirked "there she is!"

He ran to the pot and took it up by the rim, he yelled into it.

"found yo…..!..whu..?"

He stopped, the pot was empty.

He stood there puzzled for a moment … when suddenly there was a rustling from the bushes near him, he barely had time to react before.

"HAHA! WEEEEEE!" a blur of dark brown hair jumped out crashed right into the pharaoh.

"gaaahhhh!" atem yelled as he stumbled back, hazel skinned arms wrapped around him tightly, and tripped , falling backwards into the fountain water with a splash.

He lay there for a moment , dazed and confused in the fountain, until he finally shook his head and opened his violet, kohl lined eyes, to focus on another green pair gazing directly into his.

The silly girl giggled and smiled at him.

Atem sighed " hello mana." he said

Mana was a very playful girl, and her and the pharaoh had grown up together, no one was entirely sure if mana really was atems sister, many servants from the time of their childhoods had died and many official document recordings from that time had been carved away from the walls of the temples for some reason. But even if they weren't siblings, they might as well have been.

Mana started to laugh and splashed water into atems face, "hai 'pharoah".. ha ha ha!"

"can you let me up now?" he asked , since they were still sitting in the fountain.

"he he! Whoops! Okie dokie…. I'll let you go!" she got up and placed her hands on her hips as she watched the great and powerful pharaoh rise from the water, dripping wet.

'look at you, soaked! If you weren't so clumsy you wouldn't have fallen!" she teased

"clumsy!?… you attacked me from the bush like ra forsaken lion!" he protested

Mana laughed "your the one who fell!"

Pouting, atem took a handfull of water and splashed it at her.

"eek!" she squealed "hey!"

Atem stepped out the fountain cooly and smirked.

"meanie!"

"annoying pipsqueak!" said atem

Mana growled .

Atem shook his hair to dry it, getting mana wet in the process.

"I hate you!" siad mana.

Atem sighed "you try to."

They looked at each other for moment , then laughed , mana came in and gave her older brother a hug , atem chuckled and hugged back.

He let her go and they started to take a walk down the many stone pathways that trailed around the palace.

"so" asked the pharaoh "is there any other reason you asked me to come here, aside from playing hide and seek with you?…. Im busy you know, there are many other important things that need to be done."

Mana looked down "well… I dunno… I just wanted to see you…. Play around a little like we always did." she said a bit saddened

"I'm not a child anymore mana, and neither are you… you can't come calling every time you want a play date." he explained

She rubbed her arm "yeah but… you've never been a kid either"

Atem stopped and looked at her " what do you mean?"

She shut her eyes, her face shadowed by her long chestnut hair.

"I mean… , you've always been so responsible, watching over other people, studying…. And I try to make sure that you don't forget that your only a kid… you deserve to play now and then." she said.

Atem kept walking avoiding eye contact, "yeah…."

Mana walked behind him.. Quietly.

"and … now… temmi… it's been a week since we even saw each other… its like you don't have time for me anymore….. Like you don't care."

Atem stopped again, he turned around to face his sister, she looked up at him, his expression was one she had never seen before.

"mana" he put his hands on her shoulders " I am sorry that I cannot spend time with you more often, and im sorry that it may have seemed that I … don't have the time for you, but, you must know that, no matter what, I'll always care about you, if you weren't here I probably would have grown up bitter, you show me how to have fun …. And that I still can… because sometimes I forget."

She smiled at him, he bit his lip and looked down.

"and … I had no idea that it has been that long …. Recently .. There have been many things on mind…." he said with a faraway expression.

"but that's only because I worry about losing the people who mean the most to me"

He gave mana a meaningful look, she smiled wide then hugged him tight. Atem , surprised at first, smiled too and hugged her back.

"I forgive you.." she whispered

"thank you.." he whispered back.

Just then a man in robes, a millennium item around his neck walked up on the two. Atem and mana gasped as they heard soft chuckling .

"eh hemm.." the priest interrupted

Mana quickly pushed atem off of her and straitened her hair, the pharaoh just rolled his eyes.

"so there you are mana… I thought I would have to search the entire palace for you! We never finished your levitation lesson from this morning." he said pointing his staff at the culprit.

"mana! Tsk tsk tsk… " said atem mocking

Mana sweat dropped " eh heh!… yeah! Sorry mahad …Uh.. I meant to come back! Besides its not like I need practice! Look!"

Taking the magic staff she kept on her belt, she said a chant , magic sparkling around her as she pointed it strait at atem.

The pharaohs eyes widened "what are you about to…! Woah!"

Before he could say anything atems feet had lifted from the ground at least a foot.

Mahad gasped "mana!"

"what?" she asked

"PUT ME DOWN!" yelled atem as he slowly floated higher and higher.

"don't be such a baby!" she yelled back.

"mana! I don't think the pharaoh appreciates…."

"NO I DON'T! AS PHAROAH I ORDER YOU TO!.."

"uh oh…" said mana.

"uh oh , what?" asked mahad.

"I uh" she explained "I can't bring him down …."

"WHAT!?" atem exclaimed, extremely concerned.

"this is why I told you to practice! As soon as you get him down I want to…"

Just as he said that, the spell broke and atem fell to the ground , thankfully landing on his hands and feet.

"…go practice" mahad finished

Mana laughed nervously again. "ah ha ha … see?.. I got him down."

Atem glared up at mana angrily "grrrr!"

At that, mana ran off to the sorcerers chamber to practice "see ya later!"

Mahad turned to his king apologetically and kneeled.

"my magesty I am very sorry! It shall not happen again"

Atem dusted himself off and ran his fingers through his hair.

"that's quite alright mahad,… its not your fault, or her's either, she cant help but be a troublesome younger sibling."

"yes, I suppose so." agreed mahad "and um, my king"

"yes mahad"

"I had talked to ishizu earlier today…she wishes to speak with you"

Atem rose an eyebrow "really?..about what?"

Mahad continued "she did not say.. But, she said its important, she did mention something about a… rebellion."

The kings eyes widened at the word, the one thing a ruler never wants to hear. "a… what?"

Mahad shook his head "again … she did not say much…"

Atem tensed, this sounded serious.

"alright, then I shall go to her, and you'd best attend to your apprentice before she gets into anymore trouble "

Mahad nodded and rose " right"

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

As atem sauntered a bit hesitantly towards the temple of the sky goddess, nut, where ishizu made her predictions, he started to question himself. As the son of such a well respected ruler, a god, he knew he had expectations to live up to, and he tried hard to make sure that he did. He was just, he was fair, he was …. He was everything a pharaoh should be…wasn't he? or… at least he thought he was. But maybe he was wrong, maybe there was something he was doing wrong…. That would make so many people hate him, or even, want him dead.. if there truly was a rebellion uprising, he would see himself as a failure, no matter what the reason was,

"well.." he thought to himself "whatever the reason may be…. I cannot begin to doubt myself at the moment, there are more important matters that I should be focusing my attention on, besides…" he thought as guards swung open the doors to the temple at his arrival.

"I havent gotten all the facts quite yet" as he stepped into the room he smiled casually and acknowledged ishizu, who sitting at the edge of a reflecting pool, kindly.

"have your visions been clear ishizu, or have you called me here for more incomprehensible nonsense?." he joked

slightly startled by her majesties low royal voice, she turned slowly to face him. She smiled half heartedly.

"greetings.. My pharaoh …. And yes, they have been, but im afraid today's vision is nothing to be taken so lightly." she warned

"hmm…" atem then walked further into the temple, allowing the guards to close the doors behind him.

The room, like all in the pharaohs palace, was stunning, there were statues of important Egyptian gods on pedestals, sacred incenses and plants burnt in trays and grew in tall pots, the walls were carved with prayers and stories and lined with gold. And In the center of the room was a reflecting pool, and this, would be where ishizu would make her predictions of the future, or restore missing pieces of the past.

Atem walked up to the pool and confronted the psychic. "ishizu… do I have reason to worry? Mahad, had told me onlt of one word "rebellion" but he said you did not articulate much more than that. I would like to know what this is all about , and why, if is so important, you did not alert me sooner" atems tone became a bit dangerous.

Ishizu kneeled apologetically "I am quite sorry my king but, I knew mahad would tell you soon enough before I ever got the chance" she said, fingering her millennium necklace.

"and I guess it is about time I show you what I saw. " she said.

She then put out a hand " please, take my hand and I will show you a vision of your future"

"alright ten" the pharoah did as told.

Ishizu then closed her eyes and rubbed the millennium item around her neck, she then cast her fingers across the water of the reflective pool, causing it to ripple and shine with cosmic energies. When ishizu opened her eyes once more, they were glowing entirely blue.

"look" said ishizu, her voice echoing with divine knowledge "to the water "

atem looked to the water, the pool glowed as faint images of the pharaohs future manifested on its quivering surface. The pharoah gasped.

Ishizu narrated the images "my pharaoh, for a long time I sense that you have been feeling a sense of danger and urgency" she said speaking to him through a mind link. "it seems as if you and I have the same cosmic 6 th sense. For many years I have scanned up to the boundaries of your kingdom and beyond, for any sign of a threat to Egypt's peace and prosperity, and for many years it seems, we have had just that."

the reflective pool shown images of egypts boarders and of the flooded nile and the crops that that grew on its fertile, red silt edges as the woman spoke, she then continued…

"but, my great king, I fear that this prosperity has reached its end,"

"what… what do you mean?" asked the pharaoh greatly concerned.

"what I mean is" ishizu continued " …it seems that old threats have begun to rise again."

the pool of water shown an image of a small tribe east of the great pyramids.

"this is the village of Mathenka … it is south of Kul-Elna and has been an ally of the thief city for nearly a hundred years. Before an, em, incident having to do with egypts interference"

the pool shone strange images of men in chains being escorted into a dark cavern.

" …leaving kulelna a deserted ghost town. Mathenka was a very small village with only a few residents. but recently, negotiations between them and an outsider country, beyond our reach of knowledge, has allowed them to grow and seek revenge for their ally."

images of torches and spears being held up in a rhythmic chant manifested.

"but sadly, that is not all, Mathenka has been spreading rumors of you my lord, to get other Egyptian villages on their side for a rebellion , they say that you are the reason for their sicknesses, no matter how small they may be, they say you are the reason for their droughts, the reason the crops wont grow in some towns further from the holy river… that you are the reason for the slaves suffering in cities that are too faraway for you to control…. "

As the pharaoh listened to ishizus every word, his face grew grave.

"they say that you refuse to pray to the gods below and above because of your arrogance , they tell them that you think you are superior to their gods, and that is why they suffer,…."

atem couldn't believe what he was hearing, he barely even saw himself as a ruler of Egypt, much less a god…

Ishizu then closed her eyes and let go of atems hand, when she opened her eyed again they were back to normal.

"my pharoah…. I fear, that at the rate the uprising has grown, the palace may be under attack in less than a month, and you will be in more danger than ever. Soon we may not be able to even trust the guards that border the temple for protection. The great amount of assassins will grow exponentially,… you will not be safe here "

The pharaoh in distress stood… "but, all of this makes no sense! We have defended the palace from threats before! Cant we just use the black magic and shadow creatures that we always use!?" he asked, pacing across the stone floor, desperate for solutions.

Ishizu stood also and shook her head " I am sorry my pharaoh, but the amount of energy for that type of defense is too great, the link between the realm of darkness and our world is weak for reasons too complicated to explain .. And there is no army to fight against , the mathites attack in secret, in darkness, if we use our shadow powers the only thing we will be doing is scaring the villagers into the arms of Mathenka…. And also… they wish not to destroy the village … their only target… is you."

Atem stopped, his eyes widened, he turned to ishizu in disbelief .. " me?…."

She nodded " yes,.. Their plan is to overthrow you, take control of the palace , and replace you with one of their own, and if they don't kill you in time, they plan to black mail you, their plan…. It will fail of course but, if they do succeed in causing your death, the whole empire will fall into chaos"

Atem didn't know how to respond… what were they going to do… what was HE going to do. The last thing he wanted was to put the entire city in danger in exchange for his life. his soul .. At least to him.. Was no more important than anyone else's.

Atem paced to the end of the now quiet room leaned against his palm against the wall, his head hung. Thinking. As much as he didn't want to, he knew what he had to do.

"then…" he said finally.

Ishizu turned her head in his direction, waiting.

"….then either …I let them take me… " it was an option, one that, obviously, none of the priests would ever let happen.

"or… I leave… for no matter how long … until you and the rest of the priests capture all of the assassins … and hopefully, set those rumors strait."

Ishizu sighed, she knew he would say something like that, atem was a selfless ruler, the only thing he really cared for was the well being of the people around him.

"well…" she said, a bit sadly "is that your final decision"

Atem took a long breath, and clenched his fists, right now, it was his only decision.

"yes,…. Yes it is, I will make sure the village is prepared for a drought or a flood if there may be one , and I will make sure the debts to other countries are paid before I leave… "

Looking out the one window in the room that shown the skyline of the city in the dusk, he continued.

"…. if your predictions in fact, are accurate, I will make my departure in seven sun downs, in the knight, I will head west into the desert, going in the direction of Mathenka would be foolish, I am recognized easily for obvious reasons"

He ran his fingers through his hair, it was somewhat of a symbol of his godlike status and was recognized throughout the country

"Besides, even if I wasn't, I would risk being captured by unknowns"

The pharaoh let out a final sigh and turned one last time to ishizu

"… do not tell the others of my leaving" he ordered, giving her a look of finality.

Ishizu stood, giving him a sad smile, she knew him well, she knew he wouldn't want it anyway else.

She bowed as he left the room. "of course…. My majesty"

The pharaoh left, guards closing the temple doors as the last wisps of his cape draping behind him exited as well.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Later that night , everyone met in the banquet room for supper, like they did on every seventh moon. And the room was loud with drums flutes and lyres.

The banquets were always full of food and music and laughter and dancing and magic and so on. The tables were stacked with fresh sweetened dates, seasoned and fattened poultry, cooked game, salads, tilapia, fruits of all kinds and every other Egyptian delicacy one could think of, and of course the cups were filled to the brim with wine and ale, since they were safer to drink than water.

On the sidelines, every man, woman and child in the palace, even the servants, got to relax and play instruments as they watched the dancers move their full hips, or play with ribbons as they ran around chasing each other.

Atem, as pharaoh, sat at the end of the hall in his throne, he had some food and a cup of wine, there were a few things on his plate, but not much.

As he sat he watched the people around him, he enjoyed seeing them all so happy, mana was running around the room being chased by children as she trailed magic sparkles behind her.

Mahad was scaring some kids by turning his staff into a cobra.

Some of the other men, who have obviously had much to drink, tried to look up the dancers skirts, who would retaliate if they caught them. Atem shook his head at this, though entertaining, it was also very disrespectful. But he could understand, the dancers were also atems favorite, he had to admit they were pretty, but sadly none of them seemed to have a personality, whenever he did try to talk with them they would try to seduce him in hopes of being married to a royalty.

Atem shook his head, he didn't know why was thinking of such things, as if he wasn't distracted enough already, given his current situation. As of now the king hadn't touched his food or talked to anyone since his meeting with ishizu. Mostly because he didn't know how to act as if everything was right and well with the world. With all the information he had been given.

And so he sat there poking at the lamb on his plate with a worried expression. As seto, who was sitting at the other end of the table, began to take notice. The tall man in blue stood up and walked to the end of the banquet table to the throne, sitting down on the steps next to it.

Atem let out a sigh, he was hoping to get through today without having to confront anyone else, seto continued to open his damn mouth and speak.

"pharaoh, I sense something is wrong." he announced

"you always do." atem replied not bothering to look at the priest.

"well then , if I am right , what is it?" he insisted

Atem continued to stab at the meat on his plate a bit agitatedly then spoke "I hope your right." he said finally

"about what?"

"ishizu." atem explained. "how she isn't always accurate… I hope your right."

Seto looked a bit confused "what do you mean? did you speak with her today?"

Atem nodded "yes…I did."

"what did she say?"

"Nothing important." said the pharaoh, standing up.

"It doesn't sound like something that isn't." Seto prodded

"You ask too many questions!" said Atem dangerously as he walked away from the table, taking his cup with him.

The priest smirked. "So be it then."

Atem rolled his eyes and continued to walk, and Seto headed back to the feast, but before he did, atem called him.

"Seto!" he called

He turned "yes pharaoh"

"I want you to schedule a meeting for tomorrow with everyone… its important."

Seto bowed "of course" he then returned to the banquet.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Atem walked back to his chamber, slowly. The halls were dark, quiet and empty… the only sound made were his foot steps on the cold stone floor. A hand behind his back, another holding a half empty chalice, sipping from it now and then.

When he reached his room, he set the cup down and sat down at his reflection pool, wich was used as a mirror, and lit a candle as he began to remove his jewelry. He always started with the puzzle, wich was passed down from his father as a symbol of the pharaohs power. Though it was a millennium item, atem and the priests as well knew very little of the powers it held. He took it off, over his tall hair and set it down heavily on his dresser.

After that he took off his crown and cuffs, followed by his cape and sandals untill he was down to just his under tunic , which only covered half his body. He walked aimlessly to his balcony and stood there, shirtless, toned upper body gleaming with sweat and oils in the Egyptian moonlight. ((X3 soooo god damn sexy you are)) as he looked out to the west of his nation.

As a child, atem was never allowed to leave the palace, he had to learn how to be a pharaoh, how to fight, how to rule, while he watched all the other children playing as if they didn't have any responsibilities at all. And now, he had no other choice but to go outside the palace.

He smiled, though he was worried for the palaces well being. He did like the idea of being out there on his own, who knew, if he wasn't killed first, he might actually have an exciting adventure.

Taking that thought with him, he walked to his bed, took off what clothing he had left and fell back onto the mattress. He soon closed his eyes and drifted into peaceful sleep… that would be interrupted later in the night.

A/N: how'd ya like it? Yes this chapter was long but that just gives you more reading time and less time for you to impatiently wait for the next one, right? Make sure to leave a review and give it a fave if you read it! Arigatou gozaimashita!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: hey look! New chapter! If you've been I promise to keep updating as regularly as I can from now on and I apologize for making people wait for some of my other stories, this one however, will be updated every 2 to 1.5 weeks due to long chapters and quality control, any way I hope you keep reading, ARIGATOU GOZAIMASU!

The pharaohs escape: chapter 2: stripped of peace

That night, Atem lay at rest in his large canopy bed, wrapped haphazardly in silk and cotton sheets, he had slept peacefully through most of the night …. But now he was restless. His face was in an uncomforted grimace and his chest rose and fell faster than it should have. His hands clutched the sheets in vain as he tried to escape his nightmares, but to no avail.

In the realm of his unconscious hysteria, atem was standing in front of the palace, foes of shadow and darkness surrounded him like a sea of malevolence. The pharaoh himself , stood as tall as he could to protect the people inside, Mana was there as well, clinging onto his cape from fear. So far, he had tried everything, he had sent out his army but they had all fallen victim to the potency of the darkness , he had tried to convince the enemy to fall back, but they would not listen… Now it wouldn't be long before they were completely consumed by the shadows… desperate, there was only one thing left to do, he had to try, lifting up his arm, palm skyward, duel wing spread , he spoke the ancient names of the three divine beasts.

"Obelisk the tormentor!" he called, a beam of blue light shot out from his hand and into the sky.

"Winged dragon of Ra!" he exclaimed. A pillar of sun gold light fired upwards , burning into the sky as well, then he called for the last.

"Slifer the sky dragon! I summon thee!" a cannon of red fire pulsed upward into the clouds making the earth rumble and the sky clash and crack with lightning .

atem opened his eyes and looked to the enemy with a triumphant smirk, he knew he had won already, and they knew it too, or at least, they should have.

Apparently, his theatrics hadn't deterred the enemy, they just continued to creep and inch their way closer , mana, still petrified, clung tighter to him. Why were they still closing in on him!? .. They should be running in fear of his awesome powers. But then. Suddenly, he could feel it as the energy pulsing from his duel wing began to fade … draining …. He looked to the sky, the silhouettes of the three great and terrible monsters faded from above, leaving nothing but wisps of darkness and smoke… in less than a second, they had all but disappeared… They were gone, the final hope, their only hope, was gone.

As he looked in the sky with some anticipation that they would return to him just as terrific as they had been… The enemy moved in , they moved with the dusk, they moved with the wind. And They continued to surround him, and defeat him and , with a growl and a pounce, the pull of arrows on bows. They came in. and destroyed. Obscuring everything in a thick blackness…..

It was morning, in Egypt, the red aten rays rose in the eastern distance, wavering in the hotness of the desert sands.

It was early in the morning, but mana was up anyways so she could get an early start on her magician training , mostly because mahad had been putting immense amount of pressure on her lately to take her lessons more seriously .As she walked down the hall, humming as she went, she came across the two large doors that lead to atems sleeping chamber. Though the doors were always guarded by soldiers , she was always welcome inside.

She decided to check if the powerful ruler had woken yet or not. And if he wasn't, he wouldn't mind if she was the one that rose him, right? Swinging open the heavy brass door, quietly, she snuck inside. The room was dark and gloomy, the windows were covered, and the only light allowed in was from the silky , transparent curtains draped in front of the balcony that danced and flowed in the hot wind like ghosts.

Looking to the bed, she saw the faint figure of the mighty pharaoh she knew so well, fast asleep in his luxurious bed, it looked like she was going to have to play the part of the morning birds and rustle him awake. Smiling, she ran up to the window.

"rise and shine sleepy head" she said giddily then pulled back the heavy curtains revealing the sunlight, letting it shine upon the bed.

Expecting to hear his usual groan of annoyance , she was surprised to hear the king yell out in pain instead.

"aahhg!" he yelled from behind the canopy over his bed.

Manas eyes widened "atem!?" frantically, she turned around and ran to the bed , casting aside the silk curtains to reveal atem sitting strait up in his bed panting and glimmering with sweat like he had just ran a thousand miles across the Sahara dessert .

She watched him, scared, As he rose up. he was clutching his hair and breathing fast, he was…. He was shaking. Manas eyes softened, she had never seen him shiver like that from anything, to her he was the bravest strongest person in the world, of course , she would never tell anyone that, but seeing him like this, it was so different from how she pictured him. After a few seconds he seemed to calm down, but only a little. It seemed as if he didn't even notice she was there.

"atem?" she said quietly r

He seemed surprised to hear her voice, then turned quickly, his eyes were wide.

"mana?" he said…. As if he was relieved , in his dream he had felt the presence of everyone around him vanish as if they were never there…. Of course, it was only dream…. A nightmare really, he supposed, but none the less, he felt…. fear, it didn't really happen ,but if it didn't, why was he was he so….. Affected.

"mana… what are…. are you doing here … I told you not to come in without my permission!" he said.

Mana looked away, guilty …. "I… I was just awake early so …I came to see if you were up too…. p-please don't be mad. But….. Are you okay?…" she asked.

The pharaoh sighed, regaining his composure and stood up wrapped in his sheets.

"im fine… mana" he said

"well… you didn't seem very FINE to me!" yelled mana, she hugged him tight around the waist "why would you scare me like that! That scream…. You… "

She looked up at him "what would make you yell like that!?" she asked, the sound he made when he awoke was filled with a terror that she had never heard before.

Atem didn't really know what to say to her, it really was nothing but…. He was scared …. Not for his life… but for hers.

"mana…" he said smiling, cupping her cheek and wiping away her tears " im fine , really… don't worry about me… I'll be okay. " he huged her tighter and kissed her forhead, clearing away her coffee brown hair.

Mana of course didn't believe him, but she knew that she wasn't going to get any more out of him for now "alright" she said reluctantly

Atem let her go then went back to being serious, " now get out of my room before I have the guards carry you away" he said

Mana laughed and went to the door sticking her tongue out at him as she left, atem chuckled to himself as he heard her footsteps running away down the hall, he then proceeded to get dressed , hopping that his dreams would turn out to only be just that , dreams.

Later on that day, seto had done as told and gathered the rest of the priests in the throne room. though everyone had shown up, none of them knew why they had been called together. Sitting at a long stone table were the six priests of the palace. Each and every one of them held an millennium item of some sort.

Ishizu of course who was the palaces psychic, held the millennium necklace which gave her the power to see into the past and future.

Mahad, the sorcerer , held the millennium ring, it held the power to summon special monsters and locate other items.

Seto, the pharaoh's second in command , held the millennium staff, it had the power to control the wills of others and extract monsters from peoples souls.

Among the main three were three others, shadi, who was just another priest held the millennium scales, they judged the hearts of guilty men, another held the millennium key which allowed him to open the soul, mind and heart of a chosen person, an there was also an older man, who was the most mysterious of them all, he was the former pharaohs brother, and held the millennium eye, which was logged, bloodily, into his already occupied eye socket. He and his item were mysterious, and dangerous, the eye allowed the wearer to see into other realms and dimensions… things that a mortal human is not supposed to gaze upon.

The mighty seven had been waiting for a quite some time by now, and they were all beginning to become quite impatient. shadi, who was usually busy on a regular basis stood up angrily

"grr.. Why did he call us here so early if he was not to show up on time!" he yelled

"calm down!" ordered seto " I arranged this gathering by the pharaohs orders!.. If he is to take all day getting here, you will wait all day whether you wish to or not!"

Shadi growled "I know that! But why? What is this all about!?… I have not heard of any dangerous threats to Egypt for us to have such a hasted meeting!?"

Mahad butted in "but there are, shadi"

"hmm?"

Mahad bobbed his head towards ishizu. "she knows something" she looked to him "isn't that right… but for some reason you're not telling us what the problem is?"

She said nothing and looked away.

Just then the doors opened again, finally revealing the pharaoh.

Everyone calmed down, acting as if they hadn't been arguing amongst each other while he was gone and bowed respectfully.

Atem walked in, his head hung a bit low, bangs shadowing his face , he walked up the many steps leading to his throne and sat down, when he finally looked up, his priests were watching him waiting for, something….

Atem sighed and leaned back. "so…. I guess you're wondering why I called you all here today?" he suggested.

Everyone nodded once, atem looked towards ishizu " ishizu… do you mind telling them what you saw ?"

She looked surprised, everyone looked to her. "I… " she began to say .

"you saw a rebellion " said mahad.

All of the priests gasped ,Ishizu turned to him and gave him a glare.. "yes… I saw a rebellion " she continued coldly.

"I have seen the future, and in it, I see, unfortunately, death… and fire … and chaos, but this is only one possible outcome, it will only come into reality if,…" she paused

"if what ishizu?" said atem, encouraging her to continue.

She took a deep breath, .."if.. The uprising to the east, succeeds in secretly ambushing the palace"

Everyone's eyes widened, exclamations arose from the group.

"what?

What do you mean?

This cant be!

Preposterous!"

"ishizu.. Are you sure your prediction is accurate?" asked seto

She nodded, " yes, they have gathered allies and armies through lies and persuasion,… for all we know, the entire country, even including the guards surrounding the palace, could already be on their side"

Though she explained it as well as she could, the group was still skeptical .Everyone began to discuss how idiotic the idea even sounded, ambushing the palace? A place surrounded by guards and shielded by the gods themselves ? Impossible!

Tired of everyone bickering and stating their own opinion on only the lead they had at the moment, Atem stood up from his throne.

"PRIESTS!" he yelled, stomping his foot on the floor to get their attention.

They all stopped and turned to him, he looked down on them with sharp eyes, then he closed them and sighed , his expression softened when he looked down on them once more.

"please…" he said, a tone of pleading in his voice . The priests calmed and kneeled

Their king continued "if we are to over come anything that tries to destroy everything that I and my forefathers have tried to protect over many hundreds of years, you must learn to keep your nerves and stop bickering amongst each other like Imbeciles!" he said

Everyone understood . They were quiet for a moment until seto spoke up.

"well.. " He said " Cant we… just fend ourselves with hidden magic spells surrounding the palace?…. Ones that only fend off intruders?" he suggested

Atem rose an eyebrow "hmm.. Smart thinking … mahad?" he turned to the magic expert

Mahad looked down, somewhat disappointed with himself. ."I.. I am sorry … my lord.. But… we cannot."

Atemu looked down.. He was afraid of that answer.

"what do you mean?" asked seto

Mahad bit his lip "well… lately … there have been cosmic ripples flowing through the connection our magicians have with the shadow realm, this realm… this realm of darkness…. Is where most of our magic comes from, aside from the magic we can conjure ourselves ,and … as long as our connection is strong, we can summon monsters and weave powerful spells from its depths. But, as I said, these ripples are coming from a great disturbance from deep within it, and as long as they continue"

Mahad looked up, worry in his eyes " we can not defend ourselves with magic, we cannot summon monsters OR bind spells"

Priest seto looked away and gritted his teeth "what!?… why would this be happening now!?" to him this seemed to be much more than just a coincidence.

Mahad looked as if this news was his personal failure, at a time when his kingdom actually needed him, he had nothing to offer. He kneeled as low as one could, apologetically.

"I am sorry my pharaoh."

"rise mahad." said atem standing up from his seat. "it is not your fault…. I … I too have been sensing corruption in the realm of shadows…. Visions have came to me… disturbing ones…" he thought back to his dream earlier, the divine beasts disappearing….

"but whatever it is, there is no time to worry of it now… if we don't act fast the enemy wil- …."

"SHIIIING!" before atem was able to finish his sentence a thin whooshing broke the silence of the room, in a split second, atems eyes widened and he moved his head slightly to the side as it whooshed past his ear then planted itself into the back of the throne behind him with a metallic "THUNK"

everyone was silent as they looked to their king with terror, that wasn't what they thought it was,… was it?

Atem stood, eyes still wide , his breathing had stopped, and time had seemed to slow to a halt. He felt a sting on his cheek, he lifted his arm to touch it wincing , looking at his fingers , he saw his own blood…. He turned around to look at the chair, stuck into its back, was a metal dart, the feather that tipped it was dipped in red, the signal of poison….if that dart had pierced him any deeper… he would be dead!

"my pharoah…. " said mahad… eyes wide

Atem looked up, then whispered in a low tone… "go…."

Everyone just stared at him, atem began to panic, they were here.. They were inside like ishizu had said!

"LEAVE NOW!" the priests stepped back in fear, unfortunately, into the arms of assassins that were waiting behind the pillars of the palace disguised as guards. Ishizu was grabbed first, a tall man in robes grabbed her by the waist and held a long sharpened dagger up to her throat .

"ahh!" she screamed

Mahad was the first to notice and tried to save her "ishizu!" but he was then taken, a hand on his shoulder and a dagger pinched into his back.

As atem watched, there was nothing he could do, looking up he saw the assassin that shot the poisoned dart, he was standing on top of a statue, giving him an evil sneer, as he pulled another dart from his pack, knowing that he had no one to protect him now, or at least that's what he thought.

Atem , in fear, stepped back , the man blew the dart when suddenly, a blue cape whooshed through the air knocking it from its path. Priest seto, as fast as he could grabbed the pharoah by the back of his tunic and pulled him away, ushering him into cover.

Before the pharoah could even tell what was happening around him, he was in a secret corridor behind the golden throne.

"s… seto!? They… he .. "

"I know." said the priest calmly

But atem was frantic "no.. no NO! I.. I thought we had more time! I .. mana! Mahad..! We must protect them! "

Atem tried to go back and save his friends and loyal servants but seto blocked his way. "I cant let you do that." he warned ,standing tall in front of the doorway

Atem looked up at him with fury "SETO! You will let me pass! " he ordered "I cant sit back knowing that they might be killed ! Its my duty to protect them as king!"

"and its my duty as high-priest and next in line for the throne to protect YOU… if anything were to happen to you, Egypt would fall into chaos…. I may be willing to take the throne, but I am not the true chosen king… you are… "

"but…" the small king protested

"but nothing! … my pharaoh… these asassins are not going to stop untill they find you and kill you! And if you stay here they will eventually, there are no gaurdians to protect you this time…. You will be on your own…. You have to go."

Atem was about to argue but… he was right… there was nothing he could do.. He gritted his teeth, angry at himself, what type of king can not protect his kingdom? What type of ruler runs from danger? He felt like a failure.

The priest sighed and knelt down in front of atem, a hand on his shoulder ."there will be a horse and supplies waiting for you down that corridor … " he looked into atem's eyes, the pharaoh looked back sadly " and I vow to try as hard as I can to keep mana and mahad safe from harm."

As much as Atem wanted to stay and fight for his country… he knew what he had to do. Removing his crown, and his cape, ( leaving only the regal puzzle upon his neck) gingerly handing them to his loyal friend and high priest who held them with care, He gave Seto a look that was a lot like a goodbye, but he said nothing as he turned around taking a taking a lit torch with him, and disappeared into the darkness of the corridor.

"good luck, my king" said Seto quietly.

Out side, just as seto had promised was a drab robe, a bag filled with bread and dates , a canteen of water and a sword, along with some coins and everything else he would need to survive out in the Egyptian sands. Gingerly, he removed his millennium puzzle and placed it into the bag, he would need it, but couldn't risk being seen with it and if his horse was ever in jeopardy of being stolen or ransacked, the puzzle would protect both him and the horse, for it wasn't an object that one could steal.

The horse that was waiting for him was a royal one that was raised especially to be the strongest and most endured. white with a long mane and tail. Her name Hatshepsut , atem had raised her from a foal into great and strong steed and had named her after the great female pharoah because she was just as good as any stallion.

"hello girl, he greeted" as he adorned himself with the inconspicuous robes, petting her white velvet snout "it seems that you and I shall be going on quite the journey…"

He pulled himself up, with little difficulty, onto her back and put the hood over his tall, proud hair. "I hope you are ready,… because I am" he said smirking , atem had been waiting for an adventure like this for a lifetime, all the training he had, all the wars and turmoil he had seen and fought in led up to this moment. He wasn't just ready, he was excited.

Then, with a whip of the reins, Hatshepsut whinnied and strode off, galloping into the busy streets of the royal city leaving nothing but a trail of dust behind them.

Since it was still day time , the temporarily dethroned pharaoh would have to wait until the night to travel through the desert so he could navigate his way with the help of nut, the sky goddesses star studded body above. So instead of riding away now, he decided to wonder the streets undercover and perhaps gain information personally of what in ras name was happening outside of the palace. He knew priest seto would most likely vote against this tactic but he wasn't here at the moment, was he?

The streets of the royal city of egpt were crowded night and day, people in robes and skirts, bustled by carrying pots of oils and dates and grain, heads of slaughtered animals and bags of herbs. There were heavy , thickly scented herbs burning and exotic foods cooking filling the air with a layered cacophony of smells. The same went for the sounds of the streets, people yelling, singing, playing instruments and varied calls of animals rung out from every direction. In all truth, this wasn't the first time he had seen the streets of his city. yes, occasionally he would be carried out on a large chair accompanied by servants gaurds and high priests. But sometimes, he would also find the time to sneak out on his own …. Which of course was almost never… perhaps maybe this whole rebellion could have been stopped by actually letting the young pharaoh have an interest in his subjects.

The young male wondered aimlessly down the street, trying not to make eye contact with anyone. Though he supposed even speaking to anyone might end his life, he decided to confront a friendly looking merchant woman stocking up on dates and wheat for her stand. He rode his horse carefully up to the stand and opened his satchel so he could pay for something.

"good morning" he said politely

The woman looked up and smiled, kindly, "same to you, good sir, what would you like to buy? Wheat? fish? Goat head meat? "

The incognito pharaoh pointed to the canteens of wine, "I would like one of those please "

The woman looked and arched a brow "ah, a wealthy man , are you not?"

Atem panicked for a second "ah! What? N-no not at all, just an, ah, a special occasion, I was paid a bit more than usual today"

He said as he took out some coins. The older woman laughed a bit as she went to retrieve the wine.

"you sound as if you don't want to be seen as a rich man! Its okay, niether would I, rumor has it, the only people being paid a decent amount in these days are the ones doing the pharaohs dirty work"

"hmm,… dirty work?… you know, I've heard only a little our rulers mistreatment but, everything I know is just a rumor" said atem, trying to coax information from the merchant.

"skeptic? Hm hm hm .. I was one too, but the rumors keep coming and some of them are terrible! I heard that the pharaoh takes children at random from there homes to serve as personal slaves! He takes money from the poor and uses it to paint his throne room in gold and jewels! And worst of all, he refuses to allow more than a few bags of food from every farmer to towards the cities supply, the rest goes to the palace where most of it wasted! , that means no one is getting enough food! Its even worse for the farmers near the nile!"

Atem was shocked, to the very people he served his life to protect, he was seen as a cruel, greedy ruler with nothing on his mind aside from himself. None of it was true!

"t-the valley farmers?" the pharaoh in disguise asked

"hmpf! Yep, ive heard that he's changed the water irrigation so that all of the niles life giving liquid flows directly to the palace, instead of toward the farmlands, all the crops are going to dry! Some of them have already caught fire!"

Atemu was now very uneasy, his people were miserable, due to causes he couldn't fix or stop or weren't even true!

"well, ma'am , thank you for the wine," he paid her in bronze instead of gold as to not raise any suspicion.

"your very welcome" she replied

"er, by the way, have you happened to hear anything about an overthrow?" atemu asked, looking for answers

She shook her head "no, I haven't …but …. It seems like it may be time for something of that sort "

Atem was disappointed "oh, well then, I'll be on my way… gooday" he then continued on his way.

"this is insane!" atemu thought to himself "how on earth did I allow this to happen! No one trusts me, nor can I trust them.. They all think im some sort of unlawful tyrant! I've always made sure my subjects were well fed and taken care of … but now… now its as if someone out there is about to plot my undoing … that is if they haven't already succeeded in doing just that…."

As atem rode his horse through the street again, thoughts ran through his head, but he was soon brought back to reality when he began to notice a good handful of people in black linen robes, and they all looked suspicious, they had bows slung on their backs and scimitars at their hilts, And their eyes were sharp as the swords they held. No doubt these men were part of an organization, for they were not employed by the palace, and they didn't seem friendly either. Atem decided to keep moving, he got a feeling that if he lingered in the city for too long the men in black might become suspicious of him.

Unfortunately , after about half an hour of slowly pushing his way through the village, he began to tense up, as if he could sense eyes burning the back of his head, he turned around slowly, and he saw him, a man in black, staring him down intensely he was on a horse of the same color and he followed behind the pharaoh steadily.

Atem, determined to stay on track ignored the man and kept going, but the feeling did not go away, it became much worse, soon there was not only one man, but two… then later three, all on horses, all staring, all following. It got so intense that the crowds around them seemed to dissapear and soon they actually did…. The street was eerily silent except for the few people that remained and the three black horsemen.

"I must get them to stop following me!" thought atem gritting his teeth. They had been on his tail for a while now and if they continued …. Well… he didn't want to know…. All he knew is that he had to shake them off, And so, a bit abruptly, he stopped, in the middle of the road, and so did his three stalkers .

For a moment there was no sound except the snorts of their horses and the wind blowing dry sandy air. But then, black hooves broke the silence, they came closer, slowly, not as if they wanted to get around but in the way a lion would stalk and corner its prey.

Then, as a rash decision, atem lashed his riens and Hatshepsut whinned and dashed off , turning a sharp corner into a dusty corridor , the plumes of dust they left behind them disorienting the horsemen.

as atem continued to gallop down the alley holding onto his hood as he went ways his breath was fast , as if in a hurried panic, that was uncomfortably close call. It had been only a few minutes and he was already in hot water, he didn't know who these men where but he knew he had to get away, and fast. Unfortunately the dust from Hatshepsut's hooves on dry stone was not enough to deter the three horsemen and they were soon back to following atem down the alley, atemu soon noticed this as well, hearing angered yells and Egyptian curses as they chased him , the king of Egypt whipped his reins as hard as he could so he could escape them but his horse was tiring out quickly, but to his luck they came to a fork in the road and atem made a rash decision to take the left side, praying to the gods that the men would take the right.

The pharaoh let out a great sigh as the sound of three horses going down the road to the right passed him

"thank ra…" he whispered underneath his breath. he then descended from his horse and pet her on the nose.

"good job" he told her, maneuvering through a crowded alley way had to be much more exhausting than regular running, so he decided to let her rest in an empty stable while he went into a close by pub, he had only scratched the surface of what was happening in his country and he wanted to know more … and who would know more about Egypt than a bartender.

The once proud pharaoh walked through the door, hidden by his linen robes, the bar was dark and smelled like the sweaty workers that sat at the dirty wooden tables inside, the place was in poor condition to say the least but it seemed as if no one really cared. He walked in a bit further, ignoring the smoke and the chatter around him and sat at a stool at the front where a bar tender was restocking his shelves.

The bartender, who was a dark-skinned , well built man with long dreads , turned around. he looked at the pharaoh , examining him like he did with the rest of his customers, but the man sitting at the bar right now was hard to decipher, And it looked like he wanted to keep it that way.

"so… are you going to order something? If you don't have any business here I recommend that you keep moving." he said

Atemu looked up , his bright lavender eyes barely visible underneath his linen cloak and turban.

"fresh water will be fine …" he said

The man looked at atem questioningly.

", you must be someone important ,you talk like a noble man… " he said as he gave atem his water.

Atem seemed surprised and looked away, he had forgotten to disguise his voice. In Egypt, people of different ranks spoke in different dialects, since he was at the top of power he spoke in a way that practically flagged him as the spawn of royalty.

"heh.. Y-yes I have been told that before, but I am no more than a lowly royal servant, I seem to have picked up the dialect of the wealthy though I suppose" he fibbed

The bartender smiled "heh.. Oh, so you work in close quarters with the pharaoh then?" he asked

Atemu smiled as well "I guess you could say that."

"well then, if you really do work for the royals , you wont mind telling them that they're late for the 'addressing' he said with little amusement.

Atem looked down, he hadn't even realized , every seventh day , when the sun god reached a certain point in the sky the pharoah, himself of course, would come out onto a balcony, or be walked out on a tall chair to address the people, whether it was just for a moment of prayer to the gods, an update on continuing wars or just so the people where sure that their pharoah was still alive and well. But unfortunately the pharaoh knew it wasn't going to happen today.

"yes… I have noticed the delay…. But.. I must ask, being here , listening to so many people talk at this bar of yours, do you have any idea about the …rumors… surrounding the palace"

The bartender was silent for a moment as he cleaned out cups, but he then leaned in closer and whispered.

"my good sir, I know too much…. " he said, a hint of fear in his voice.

"please tell me what you've learned …. I must know."

"hmm…. You seem trustworthy enough… so I will." he looked around first to make sure no one was ease dropping and continued.

"a few days ago,.." he whispered

"I had two men enter my bar, they were both wearing black linen robes and hoods that hid their faces, much like yours does.. They came to the counter ,ordered something to drink and as they sat I overheard them talking about something that had to do with infiltrating the palace…"

The pharaoh was shocked, could those men be the ones in the palace right now.

"go on…" he commanded

"well… as they continued to drink of course, they became louder, and thiervoices traveled farther, and by the third set of drink they were speaking of setting crops on fire and yelling to the rest of the customers of the tyrant that sits at the palaces throne stealing money from the pour and pillaging food from the sickly … it almost sounded as if they were trying to scar the pharaohs image on purpose … like it was part of some grand scheme."

Atem didn't know what to say… and even though what the man said made it clear that ishizu had been right ….it still kept him at square one, the bartender knew no more than he did.

"well then…. " he said "was there anything else you over heard ?"

He shook his head " 'fraid not, before they could say any more of their plans, another man, dressed the same as the two, grabbed them by the back of their hoods and dragged them out the door, there was some yelling from the other side of the door but I couldn't make out what they were saying… "

Atem sighed "alright then.."

Inside, atem was highly frustrated. He knew about their plans and schemes but what he needed was a reason. Why? Why were they doing this!? Did his people just detest him because they needed someplace to discard their inner hatred? Or was it because he was doing something wrong? Was it a plan spun by one of their surrounding countries or perhaps just a single person that despised him and wanted to rid of him…. Atem didn't think he was even old enough to gain such a powerful, hateful enemy.. Whatever the reason, he wanted to find it, because not knowing was beginning to eat away at his sanity. He needed more info, and fast.

A/N: yay! thank you for reading! As you can see, Atemu is in quite the situation, who knows what adventures lie ahead, treasure? Slavery? Love maybe? Well, if you want to know for sure what happens PLEASE READ & REVIEW! thank you! ~3


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